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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29299023">Saturn</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/phlebotinxm/pseuds/phlebotinxm'>phlebotinxm</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Happy Ever After [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>A+ Parenting, F/M, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Leo Fitz is a good Dad</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 07:07:49</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>6,322</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29299023</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/phlebotinxm/pseuds/phlebotinxm</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <em> “Daddy?” </em>
  <br/>
  <em> Fitz looked down at his daughter walking right beside him, her little hand firmly squeezed in his. Her yellow school bag was still on her shoulders, as she’d refused to let him take it as soon as he’d picked her up from school, and her hair was a bit of a mess after a whole day spent with her friends. </em>
  <br/>
  <em> “Yes baby?” </em>
  <br/>
  <em> “Do you miss the stars?” </em>
</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Leo Fitz/Jemma Simmons</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Happy Ever After [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1938604</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>45</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Saturn</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/celestialfitz/gifts">celestialfitz</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hello everyoneeee!!! </p>
<p>I'm back today with a little prompt given by the adorable celestialfitz, who asked me for Fitz teaching Alya about the stars. I hope you will like what I have done with it!! and thank you so much for this wonderful idea!! </p>
<p>This work is a part of the post Season 7 series I have started posting a little while back. It's better if you've read the rest of them, but it's not mandatory. </p>
<p>As always, English isn't my first language and all mistakes are my own. </p>
<p>Please don't hesitate to tell me what you've thought about this little thing in the comments, I'd love to hear from you!! xx</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“Daddy?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Fitz looked down at his daughter walking right beside him, her little hand firmly squeezed in his. Her yellow school bag was still on her shoulders, as she’d refused to let him take it as soon as he’d picked her up from school, and her hair was a bit of a mess after a whole day spent with her friends. As always when he looked at her, Fitz felt his heart swell in his chest and his lips pull into a smile. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes baby?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m not a baby,” Alya countered, her little nose scrunching into an exasperated expression. Fitz was once again hit by how much she looked like Jemma already. She might have been all his side of the recessive genes when it came to the blonde hair and blue eyes, but Alya was no doubt her mother’s child. “I’m almost five.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Fitz only smiled wider. “Sure, monkey. Not a baby anymore. What’s up?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They stopped at a red light, meaning to cross the street to the pathway leading to the cottage. When they’d moved to Perthshire, both he and Jemma had known very well what they wanted their house to be like, and they’d fallen in love with the big cottage as soon as they’d laid eyes on it. It was a little farther out of the city, but the school was a handful of minutes away by foot, which allowed Fitz to walk Alya to school and back every day. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Alya wriggled her body from left to right with a thoughtful expression, tugging on her father’s hand as she did so. “Do you miss the stars?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The question took Fitz by surprise. It wasn’t that they never talked about their time in space —they did, and there was no taboo on this period of their lives. Alya had understood how important it was to keep those years to herself when it came to the public and especially her friends at school, but she rarely even spoke to her parents about it. They’d consulted a psychologist issued by SHIELD (Mack had been a godsend when it came to finding someone they could trust to speak to Alya during her first few months on Earth) who’d told them to be patient, and wait until she breached the subject herself. Fitz hadn’t expected it to be in the middle of the street after a long day at school, though. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sometimes,” he admitted, remembering how the psychologist had told them to always be honest with Alya, no matter how much they wanted to protect her. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“She’s a smart kid,”</span>
  </em>
  <span> she’d said, </span>
  <em>
    <span>“and she will know when you’re not totally honest with her, which will only trigger her fight response and make her lose her blind trust in you.” </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The light turned green, and they crossed the street hand in hand. “Why do you ask?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sometimes, I miss them too,” Alya admitted. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Fitz stayed silent for a moment. Behind the trees up ahead, he could begin to decipher the roof of the cottage, and the entrance of the big garden up front. He’d never thought he’d eventually have this life one day, even in his wildest dreams. When he was just a young boy, over excited to see the world and help save it as much as he could, he’d never once imagined what his future would look like. Funnily enough though, even well before Jemma jumped out of the bus to save the team when she’d been infected with the Chitauri virus and he’d realized the intensity of his feelings for her, he’d known he would have no future without Jemma in it. And now, he got to live the perfect quiet life he’d never thought he could ever have. A child, soon to be three, and his very best friend by his side. Life was funny like that.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Is it about the babies?” he asked. Alya had been over the moon at the idea of having two siblings soon, but there was something about the way she acted around Jemma lately that sparked doubts in his mind. Alya had always been a careful and gentle kid, even from the moment she was but a toddler, and lately she’d been acting as if Jemma was a bomb ready to explode. She was quite shy when it came to hugging her mum, something that had never been an issue before that. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No,” Alya said. Then, “I don’t know.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Fitz stopped walking, turning around so that he could face his daughter and lower his body to her level. “You know you can tell me anything, right?” He said, stroking her cheek tenderly. “Even if it’s something bothering you. Your mama and I, we’ll always be there for you no matter what happens. The babies won’t change that, and won’t change how much we love you either.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Alya sighed. “I know.” She stomped her foot on the floor, looking down at the dirty sole of her shoe as she did so. Fitz waited, sensing that she was seconds away from speaking again. Around them, a few cars drove by and the wind ruffled a few trees, but Fitz was grateful for the lack of pedestrians giving them a bit of intimacy. “Do you think mama will be okay?” Alya asked eventually. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay? What do you mean, why wouldn’t she, monkey?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His hand never left his daughter’s cheek as she hesitated. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I heard you last night,” Alya confessed with a timid voice. “I wanted water, and you said… you said the babies were dangerous for mama.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Fitz tried to think back to the night before, and what could have been misunderstood by Alya to the point of causing her such anxiety. He’d talked about the twins with Jemma then, he did remember that, but he didn’t remember the subject ever going around something that drastic. Well, at the exception perhaps of that moment when they mentioned Maveth, and the possible side effects it could have had on Jemma’s body now that she was carrying twins. Fitz was suddenly hit with realization, and he looked back at his daughter. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Honey… no, that’s not what we were saying at all.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You said…. high risky—”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“High risk pregnancy. But it’s not something bad, monkey. Even though it does actually sound bad,” he admitted sheepishly, “You’ve read about it before, haven’t you? It means we’ve got to be careful, because when mamas get two babies in their bellies, they have to be extra careful not to work too much because then she will be very tired, and the babies might come a little bit early.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was more to it, of course, and more worries he’d shared with Jemma ever since they’d learned that they were not expecting one, but two babies. Although he realized that they might want to keep the pregnancy talks to any moment when Alya wasn’t inside the house, to avoid any other kind of worries in the future. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay,” Alya said after a beat. The crease between her brows had disappeared a little bit, and Fitz couldn’t resist the need to bend over and kiss her on the forehead, then the tip of her nose. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You know, wee monkey, the next time something bothers you like this… you can come see us right away. It’s not good to stay with such worries.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Alya looked a little bashful when she directed her gaze up towards him. “Okay, daddy.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Fitz couldn’t help the smile that split his face in two. “Come here, now.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Grabbing her by the waist, Fitz hoisted her up in his arms as he got up, knees creaking a little. He wasn’t getting any younger, not that it would prevent him from carrying his daughter, ever. His heart broke at the mere thought of Alya getting old enough to send him off and refuse the same embraces that made her laugh with delight just now. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Can we go to the swings?” Alya whispered against his cheek, wrapping her arms around his neck firmly. “Just for a little while?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Fitz’s heart swelled in his chest. “Sure, wee monkey. Everything you want.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They walked past a couple walking hand in hand in the street, laughing about something Fitz didn’t feel like eavesdropping on. It felt weird, still, to hear people speak with a Scottish accent everywhere he went. He’d gotten so used to hearing various American accents over the years, he didn’t know how to act now that he was back. His mum had told him his accent had gone a little softer, but he hadn’t really noticed. What he’d noticed however, was the perfect little mix of accents that came out of his daughter’s mouth at times. It was mostly Scottish, he’d realized with pride and a fair share of emotions. But there was some English, too, and it was all Jemma’s. And sometimes, hidden under that already peculiar mix, he could even decipher a bit of Enoch’s.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Fitz never got enough of Alya discovering the vastness of the world. He often realized how much he took the little things for granted, whenever he saw her eyes go wide with wonder. Whether it was her first time under the rain —and then her belly aching  a little when she’d opened her mouth wide to collect all the drops during the day— or the concept of playing with other children. At first, leaving the Zephyr and the safety of the ship for Earth had been more difficult for Jemma and Fitz than Alya, really. For the first three years of her life, they’d been able to keep their daughter safe from any harm. Both Fitz and Jemma had been aware that it would be hard for them to let her go into the world on her own, but they hadn’t anticipated the curiosity that came with being a Fitzsimmons that Alya had inherited from. For the first months they’d been in Perthshire, it had been impossible for them to leave Alya out of their sight for more than a handful of minutes. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>One of the things they’d found worked wonders to keep Alya at the same place for hours was the swing. She never grew tired of it, and it was eventually either Fitz, Jemma or Maggie that put an end to it and coaxed her inside the house with promises of hot chocolate and biscuits. Alya truly was her father’s child when it came to everything containing sugar, and while Jemma liked to roll her eyes and grumble for good measure, they all liked to have a hot chocolate in front of the TV at night. Habits and small traditions had become a part of their lives, from the hot chocolate before bed to the mix of cereals with a banana in the morning for Alya, and Fitz had no idea how such simple things in life had become his everything. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jemma liked to say that they should enjoy such times as much as they could before the babies arrived and turned their lives inside out. Fitz remembered but too well what their lives looked like with a newborn, and he couldn’t even begin to imagine how much time for themselves they’d have with two. Every moment they could spend with Alya in the meantime was a gift, and they’d slowly worked her around the idea of sharing her time with her siblings once they’d be born. She already knew that babies needed much time and attention, but Fitz and Jemma both felt anxious at the idea of Alya closing on herself.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We can’t stay long, though,” Fitz insisted once she was secured on the swing and wriggled her body with impatience. “Mama will be waiting for us with cookies.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Cookies?” Alya perked up, her eyes opening wide. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Fitz chuckled. She was his daughter alright, there was no denying it. “That’s right monkey, we made cookies while you were at school. Now, how about burning off that extra energy before heading home?” </span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>“Hello, husband,” Jemma whispered as her eyes fluttered open, leaning against Fitz’s delicate touch. The bed had dipped slightly where he’d sat right next to hers, and she stretched her body a little before curling around his back like a cat. Fitz laughed, his fingers sliding from her cheeks to her hair, and Jemma hummed in delight. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hello, wife. How was that nap of yours?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Quite efficient, actually. I feel so much better.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Fitz’s hand left her hair, only to slide down her body and cup her round belly. At five months, her belly was way rounder than it’d been when she was carrying Alya already. “The little ones giving you some peace for once?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jemma sighed. “Yeah, they are. I had a bit of a headache earlier, surely because of the hormonal fluctuations. I feel better now, I think the nap is exactly what I needed.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Fitz’s hand stilled on his belly. His brows were furrowed in worry, and Jemma immediately covered his hand with hers to ease his mind. “Do you feel dizzy?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, I feel fine now. I’m so glad I’m not as sick as I was when I was pregnant with Alya, it was a bit of a nightmare.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She made a move to straighten up, and Fitz immediately wrapped a strong arm around her upper back to help her out. “Yeah, I remember. The gravity was crazy in the Zephyr, too, and it didn’t help in the slightest.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jemma groaned, balancing her legs out of the bed. She let her head drop between her shoulders and rolled her neck a little bit, grimacing when a few vertebras popped. Fitz kept on rubbing her back steadily, and she eventually leaned in his embrace to put her head on his shoulder. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Do you want to eat something? I can cook you something very quick.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jemma had been eating a lot more than usual lately, something that came with the second trimester of her pregnancy. Fitz was more than happy to fix her something to eat whenever she craved it, and Jemma liked to watch with a smile as he often ate half of it himself. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She smiled. “Nah, I’m good, thank you.” She pushed a kiss against the corner of Fitz’s lips, and sighed. “Where’s Alya?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“In front of the TV. She’s already done her homeworks, obviously, and I made her a hot chocolate. She was waiting for you to wake up actually.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A smile immediately broke down her face. “Really?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah. She… Jemma, she heard us last night.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It took a few seconds for Jemma to realize what he meant. “When we talked about the twins?” She asked, her hand coming up to cradle her belly instinctively. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah. She thought it meant you were in danger, and that’s why she was so worried this morning.” Fitz sighed. “I told her she needed to come to us straight away when she was scared, but I think she inherited from our habit to keep things to ourselves until it burst.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They both shivered at the thought of their mind prisons, and the two parts of themselves they’d long kept away since they’d moved to Perthshire. They were still in there somewhere, in the dark shadows of their minds, but the both of them had accepted to go see a therapist at the same time as Alya. It had felt weird at first, and some times were harder than others. But it had eventually done them some good, and they’d agreed to go on for as long as they could —at least until the twins were born. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah,” Jemma whispered. “I… should we talk to her about it?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I did. Or at least I tried to, anyway. I think… I think it could be good if you girls had a little talk together? Just the two of you?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She gave a short nod. “Yes, of course. I’ll talk to her tonight, before putting her to bed.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Alya already had her habits, something that reminded Fitz of Jemma so much his heart swelled every time he saw his daughter stick to an already stick schedule for a four (and a half) years old. She was a creature of habits, just like him, but she organized her thoughts way better than he’d been able to at her age —and the ones that followed. Before Jemma barged into his life, Fitz had never been known to be a good planner. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s hard, being a parent,” Fitz said in a whisper. “I don’t think I gave my mum enough credit for it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jemma shook her head, chuckling slightly. “It is, isn’t it?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Fitz hummed. For a moment, the only sound in the room was the muffled noises of the TV downstairs, and their coordinated breaths. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Do you think we’re doing a good job at it?” Fitz said eventually. “Being parents, I mean. One moment I think we did a fine job, and the next I realize maybe we could have done more, tried harder, been better.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jemma paused. She thought about her daughter downstairs, probably engrossed in her cartoons and totally unaware of the thoughts going through their minds at this very instant. She thought about the turmoil of emotion that had overtook her the first moment she realized she was carrying a life almost five years ago aboard the Zephyr, and how those emotions had never stopped growing ever since. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I never thought I could love someone that much,” Jemma said, looking ahead and seemingly lost in her thoughts. “Before we got Alya. I loved you, and I love you more than I can even imagine, but Alya… it’s just so…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Different,” Fitz finished for her. “I know, Jems.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And sometimes, I don’t know how I could love anyone else the way I love her. But then, I think about them,” she lowered her hand to her belly as she talked, rubbing it absentmindedly, “and I know it’s going to happen again.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jemma felt Fitz’s hand sneak against hers, his fingers squeezing hers reassuringly. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We gave Alya two very different childhoods, didn’t we?” He asked. “Up in the Zephyr, with just the three of us and Enoch… it was something different than anything she could have lived on Earth, so very different from what the twins will know, too. Sometimes….” he took a breath, “Sometimes I think we made the wrong choice.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Fitz… No. We did everything we could for her, and for us. There was no other way, and you know it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I know,” He sighed. “I know, Jem. And if this was to happen again… I know we would make the same choice, over and over again. But it doesn’t mean I don’t feel guilty, when I see Alya looking at the wonders of the world as she discovers them for the first time.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jemma nodded. “I know what you mean. Trust me, Fitz, I know.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His hand tightened on hers. “Should we go back downstairs? I’m sure Alya is two seconds away from starting an experiment of some sort. She’s your daughter, after all.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s pretty easy, Mister ‘I played with space and time’ to save the world.” </span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>Margaret Fitz prided herself in thinking she was not easily surprised. She’d only been mildly surprised the first time her 16 years old son had called her and told her all about Jemma Simmons, the first person he’d ever met that could keep up with him. She hadn’t been surprised in the slightest two years later when Fitz had brought Jemma home with him, and she’d realized how in love her son was with the lass. She hadn’t been surprised either to learn that they’d gotten together years after —it had taken them enough time, for Christ’ sake— and not even blinked when she’d received an encrypted email telling her that they’d tied the knot in secret. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Now, she had to admit that she </span>
  <em>
    <span>had</span>
  </em>
  <span> been a little surprised to open the door and find her son holding a little girl who looked like a carbon copy of him on her doorstep a few months before. Especially since the wee lass was three and a half years old already, and seemed to know everything about her granny the moment she’d first seen her. After a messy explanation that left more questions unanswered than anything else —and a few cursed words thrown her son’s way as he blushed all the way down his neck, covering Alya’s ears— Margaret had come to terms with the idea, though. She wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth, and Alya was absolutely wonderful. She was everything could have hoped for in a grandkid, and she loved spending all the time she could with her. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When Alya was all her Leo physically, something that had hit her right in the face at first, she shared a lot of Jemma’s brilliant mind and quick temper. A fact that Leo seemed to equally love and suffer through, which was incredibly funny to her. The love with which he looked at his girls was unmistakable though, and Margaret had never been prouder of her son in her entire life. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Now, she thought the secret baby —who wasn’t that much of a baby, she thought as she watched Alya sing to herself as she drew at her kitchen table, little legs kicking under her— would be the last of the surprises she would get for a little while. It had been a little over a year since Jemma and Fitz had moved to Perthshire, and Margaret was happy to realize that they seemed content in having her in the cottage more often than not. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jemma confided in her, never ashamed to ask for advice or afraid to express her personal doubts over the education of her daughter and the babies to come. When she had never been really close to her parents, that she very rarely saw even now that they’d learned about Alya (something that she didn’t really understand, but Margaret had sworn herself not to judge other people too harshly) and it had warmed her heart to realize that Jemma thought of her as a second mum. Leo was as sweet of a boy as she remembered, always phoning her even when they saw each other quite regularly —Margaret didn’t remember spending a week without seeing her little sunshine, as she liked to call Alya, since they’d moved in Scotland— and Alya was simply perfect, always beaming every time she saw her and running straight into her open arms. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Margaret didn’t remember ever being so happy, and learning that her sweet Jemma was to have twins hadn’t come quite as a surprise either. They had, after all, a few sets of twins in the family, and she was ecstatic to learn that she was to be a grandmother again. This time, she would make sure to be there all the steps of the way, too. And after Leo and Jemma’s understandable shock, the news had been received as it should: with giddy laughs and claps of hands coming from the FitzSimmons’ old team, as they told them over the phone. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>So after all of this, Margaret Fitz hadn’t expected a new surprise to come from her sweet little Alya, of all people. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Granny?” she asked as she drew what looked like a constellation on her thin sheet of paper, “did you ever go to space?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Margaret had to do a double take as she stared at her granddaughter, her blue eyes turning towards her when she realized her question wasn’t answered immediately. Alya’s curiosity never faded, something that was so similar to both her parents it made Margaret’s heart ache in her chest. She was perfect. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I can’t say I have, no.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh” Alya’s face deflated, and her little fingers lost their grip on her crayon for a split second. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Why that question, little sunshine?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She sat down in front of Alya, putting down the cup of tea she was holding on the wooden table in front of her. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I miss it, sometimes. Mama and daddy say I can talk about it with them but… I wish I could share the secret with other people, too.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There were a few things Margaret was absolutely certain of when it came to Alya. First, she was probably the most perfect child in the world, right next to her Leo when he’d been a little kid. Second, she was highly intelligent, something that shouldn’t be surprising with her family heritage. Third, Alya was everything but a liar. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Have you been to space before?” she asked carefully, stirring her tea as she looked at the way Alya twisted in her seat. In a few movements, Alya secured one of her feet under herself, something both Leo and Jemma liked to chastise her for. Margaret simply didn’t have the heart to tell her to sit correctly. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah.” Alya replied, turning her drawing around for her to see. “There!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Margaret didn’t have a lot of knowledge of space. However, she knew her way around the most basic notions, and the constellation she was currently looking at was not one she’d ever seen before. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And where is that exactly, little sunshine?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s Theta Sperentis” Alya explained, a smile breaching her little face. Her dimples looked so much like Leo’s when she smiled, it made Margaret’s head spin a little. “A three stars constellation” she kept going with a frown “one of them is called Alya, it’s the biggest star in the system!”  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She waved her little hands around with glee, showing off her drawing until Margaret could see exactly which star she was babbling about. It looked like any kind of messy drawing a four years old could have made, but there was also a definite precision in Alya’s strokes.  “Oh, really?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes” Alya nodded, lips pursed slightly. She looked so much like Jemma when she was focused on something, Maggie could hardly believe it. “This is where I grew up!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Now, Margaret knew her way around children. She often babysat for her neighbors, a lovely couple with adorable children who liked to tell her stories they came up with in the heat of the moment, playing with their dolls or legos. But somehow, she knew deep in her guts that Alya wasn’t coming up with this entire story, no matter how smart her granddaughter was. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Is it?” she asked no matter what.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Alya nodded eagerly. “Mama and daddy said not to tell. But you said I could tell you everything.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her beautiful blue eyes bore into Maggie’s, and she felt her chest tighten. “You’re right. I’ll keep it a secret, like everything else you will ever tell me.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She was however, going to have a serious conversation with her son as soon as he walked through the door this evening. But for now, she was content just feeding her granddaughter another cookie, that she ate enthusiastically. It would surely be a pain to put her to sleep that night with that much sugar into her system, but that’s what Leo got for hiding such critical information from his mother, Maggie thought as she watched Alya devour the sweets. </span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>“Monkey, can you come see me for a sec?” Fitz said as soon as Alya jumped on the couch, ready for her evening cartoons. Jemma was cleaning the table while he put the dishes in the dishwasher, and their eyes met furtively. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Alya obediently walked back towards her father, one of her little socks slipping off her feet. Fitz whipped his hand on the apron he’d left on the sink and kneeled beside her, arranging the lone sock. “Yes daddy?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Fitz smiled, kissing the tip of her nose.  “What do you say we go watch the stars together tonight?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Alya’s eyes immediately shined. “Can we daddy?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, sweet girl,” Jemma said from behind her, ruffling her hair gently. “As long as we all wrap ourselves in big blankets.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Alya shrieked in delight, immediately running towards her room to grab her blankie. Maggie had knitted her one not that long ago, and it had been a difficulty in itself to grab it from her long enough to wash it when it had started smelling awful. Maggie had been delighted to learn that, which prompted her to knit even more of them, and the cottage was now filled with various sized blankets disposed on every seat available. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you ready, Jem?” Fitz asked, grabbing the one they’d left on the couch to wrap around his wife. He pressed a kiss on her forehead, making her laugh in delight as he grabbed her by the waist and flushed their bodies together. Even through the thick cotton of the blanket, Fitz could feel her round midsection pushing against his lower belly. Looking down between them, he was surprised to feel the slightest flutter tickle his skin. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Did they just…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah,” Jemma said with a smile. She looked positively adorable, wrapped in the blanket like a burrito, cheeks flushed with happiness. “I think the babies are excited to learn about the stars, too.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Fitz hummed in delight, bending over just enough to push his lips against his wife’s. Their kiss was short but passionate, and both adults felt like it could have led to many more if Alya hadn’t interrupted them by running towards them full force. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What did I say about running in your socks around the house, monkey?” Fitz asked, grabbing Alya by the waist to hoist her up his shoulders. Alya shrieked in delight, her arms tight around the numerous blankets she’d retrieved from her room. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m sorry!! Sorry, daddy,” she laughed, a little breathless. Fitz kept digging his fingers in her sides, and Alya couldn’t stop laughing. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Alright, you two,” Jemma said, unable to hide her smile. Her heart was so full it felt like it was going to burst right out of her chest. “Let’s head outside, shall we?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They had to negotiate a little bit for Alya to slip on her shoes, afraid that her feet would freeze even with the warm evening they were blessed with. Fitz was used to Scottish weather and how quickly it could shift, and even Jemma could not refuse the extra blankets he packed as they walked towards the hamac in the garden. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The hamac was big enough for several people, something that Fitz had designed with days like this in mind. After helping Jemma lay down in it and making sure she was comfortable staying on her back </span>
  <em>
    <span>“I’m fine, Fitz, stop fussing!”</span>
  </em>
  <span> he grabbed Alya by the waist and settled next to his wife. It took a little bit of wriggling for Alya to be comfortable and Jemma and Fitz to cover her with the blankies, but when she did it was with an arm around Jemma’s midsection, her little head right above the belly. Fitz exchanged a glance with Jemma, and neither of them needed words when they immediately reached for each other’s hand. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Did you know,” Jemma said in a quiet voice, as if she was afraid of disturbing the bubble they’d made for themselves under the blankets. “That the United Kingdom has some of the largest areas of dark sky in the continent? The view is not quite the same in America, because we get to see over 7.000 stars and planets with our bare eyes at night.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We don’t see them like in space,” Alya commented with a frown, her little lips pursed with concentration. Fitz had to resist the urge to kiss her nose, mostly because it would make them all move from their comfortable position. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, we don’t.” he said. “But see, over there? That’s The Milky Way, stretching across the sky. That’s our galaxy, and it’s not the same as the one you grew up in.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Alya squinted, and Jemma chuckled. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It can take a few minutes for your eyes to adjust, monkey.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She didn’t mention the fact that before, back in the Zephyr, they lived in constant obscurity. Alya had lived the entire three first years of her life under artificial lights, and it had taken her a long time to get used to the sun. It was crazy to see the reverse effect now.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You need to avoid looking at the bright light,” Jemma kept going, “try to look at them indirectly, because you’ll see them more clearly.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As she concentrated, Alya let out a little huff, her tongue poking out from between her lips. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“There’s a shimmer of light streaming right through the constellations of Cassiopeia and Cygnus,” Fitz said. “That’s the milky way.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Uncle Enoch!” Alya exclaimed with excitement. She looked back at her dad, eyes wide. “Cygnus, that’s uncle Enoch’s home!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Fitz felt his throat tighten. It had been a long time since Alya had talked about Enoch. Jemma said she would eventually forget about him as she grew up, but somehow Fitz doubted she could ever forget the man who’d spent the first years of her life by her side. Alya and Enoch had been inseparable from the moment she’d been old enough to follow him around, and Enoch had been more than happy to spend hours answering all of her inquisitive questions. Neither Fitz nor Jemma knew exactly what those two had talked about in the hours they’d spend together, but sometimes Alya surprised them with facts she couldn’t have learned by herself that early. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Fitz missed his best friend dearly. He hadn’t realized how much, but then he couldn’t stop seeing little bits of Enoch’s mimmerisms in Alya for days after learning about his death. It was things Alya didn’t even realize she did, and neither he or Jemma had corrected her. He knew Jemma missed him just as much, having been with him when he died, but they rarely talked about it. Moments like this always came as a surprise. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah,” Fitz said, clearing his voice a few times. “Yeah, that’s uncle Enoch’s home.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sensing the emotions overcoming her husband, Jemma went on. “And those are the grand constellations of winter: Orion, Taurus, Auriga, Perseus, Cassiopeia, Gemini, and Canis Major.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Alya seemed a little overwhelmed with the information, silently repeating them after her mum. Jemma kept going, amused by her interest.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“They’re rich with stars and clusters, and you know how Alya is the biggest star of Theta Serpentis? Well, those stars have their biggest as well. You can see Capella, Castor and Pollux, Procyon, Sirius, Rigel, Aldebaran and Betelgeuse.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You don’t have to remember all this,” Fitz chuckled as Alya counted on her fingers, eyes as wide as saucers. “And we can always come back tomorrow, if you don’t remember.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Alya seemed torn. Her eyes kept shifting between the stars and constellations, as if her mind couldn’t get quite enough of the information offered to her. For a little while, silence fell upon them as the little girl thought about all she’d learned, and Fitz used the occasion to close his eyes for a fleeting moment. He’d learned the day he became a parent that he should catch sleep whenever he could, especially since Alya was exactly like her mum in that regard and liked to get up awfully early. Sometimes, Fitz missed those times he could sleep past 8 in the morning. But eventually, he knew he wouldn’t give up his newfound happiness for the world. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Mama? Daddy?” Alya’s voice was a little quieter this time, as if she was hesitating to go on.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jemma hummed. “Yes, sweet girl?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you going to name the babies after stars, too?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Opening his eyes, Fitz exchanged a glance with Jemma above Alya’s head. To be completely honest, they hadn’t talked about names, yet. Fitz knew a little part of Jemma was absolutely terrified that something could go wrong with her pregnancy, no matter how positive the doctors were. Even when she was pregnant with Alya, they hadn’t talked about names until she was at least six months along. But back in the stars, there were no other names that had come to their minds but the one of the brightest stars in their sky anyway. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, baby. I don’t think so,” Jemma eventually said. Fitz realized that it was exactly what he’d told her, too, if given the chance to speak before his wife.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Why?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Using her momentary distraction to hoist Alya in his lap, making the hamac rock a little, Fitz kissed the top of his daughter’s head. “Because your name is special, little monkey, and it will always be. You know how you’ve grown up in the stars, and how we’ve taught you all about the constellations up there too?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jemma was looking at the two of them with such adoration in her eyes that Fitz felt his head spin a little. Against his chin, Alya nodded. “Yes.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, the babies… The babies won’t know all that. Because up there it was only you, and me, and mama. And this experience, it will always be between the three of us.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Alya seemed to think about it for a moment. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It means, baby,” Jemma added in a whisper, “That you will always be mama and daddy’s little star. You understand? The babies won’t change how much we love you, and the time we all spent together. Me and daddy might be a little more busy for a while when the babies are born, but I promise you we will always make time for you. Okay?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Alya curled around Fitz’s neck a little tighter, grabbing Jemma’s hand to bring it towards her chest protectively. “Okay,” she whispered finally. “Can we look at the stars a little more now?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jemma chuckled wetly, using her free hand to wipe the tears threatening to spill past her water line. “Yeah, monkey. We can.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As his girls looked up towards the sky once more, Fitz realized that he couldn’t quite tear his eyes away from the loves of his life. He did, after all, have something much more magnificent than the stars to look at. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>You can find me on social media, on my fanfiction dedicated <a href="https://twitter.com/phlebotinxm"> twitter </a>  for small snippets from my other works, or my <a href="https://twitter.com/KeptinOnZeBridg">main account</a>!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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